Cultural differences in interpersonal responses to depressives' nonverbal behaviour

The Social Impression and Interpersonal Attraction of British depressed patients was rated by British and German subjects on the basis of the patients' video-recorded nonverbal behaviour. Depressives were rated negatively by all subjects. Males in both cultural groups agreed in their ratings of depressives but German females expressed a more negative attitude than British females. This is attributed to cultural differences in sex-appropriate interactive behaviour. The importance of studying the expression of depression and its meaning within a particular cultural context is indicated and the role of cultural differences in interactive behaviour is discussed with respect to intercultural assessment and treatment of depression.